Abstract:In 2008, the phrase "big data" shifted in meaning. It turned from referring to a problem and an opportunity for organizations with very large data sets to being the talisman for an emerging economic and cultural order that is both celebrated and feared for its deep and pervasive effects on the human condition. Economically, the phrase now denotes a data-mediated form of commerce exemplified by Google. Culturally, the phrase stands for a new form of knowledge and knowledge production. In this essay, we explore the connection between these two implicit meanings, considered as dimensions of a real social and scientific transformation with observable properties. We develop three central concepts: the datasphere, thick mediation, and representational opacity. These concepts provide a theoretical framework for making sense of how the economic and cultural dimensions interact to produce a set of effects, problems, and opportunities, not all of which have been addressed by big data's critics and advocates.

中文翻译：

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大数据，深入中介和代表性不透明

摘要：2008年，“大数据”一词的含义发生了变化。它从提到具有大量数据的组织的问题和机会转变为成为新兴的经济和文化秩序的护身符，这种秩序因其对人类状况的深远而广泛的影响而受到赞扬和担忧。从经济上讲，该词组现在表示一种以数据为媒介的商业形式，以Google为例。在文化上，该短语代表知识和知识生产的新形式。在本文中，我们探讨了这两个隐含意义之间的联系，这些隐含意义被视为具有可观察特性的真实社会和科​​学变革的维度。我们开发了三个中心概念：数据层，密集中介和代表性不透明。